What exactly is "legitimate rape" ?

[delphipsmith]

Once again a Republican puts his foot in his mouth (or his head up his ass) when talking about women's health issues. In this case, it's Todd Akin making a colossally insensitive and biologically ignorant statement about rape and pregnancy. He is apparently fine with abortion being illegal even in cases of rape because...wait for it..."If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

Er, huh? Like what? A quick Tweet from the brain, "yo @fallopian_toobz pls ignore any-all sperm for next 48 hrs as they were unauthorized thx #legitimaterape" ??

This man is beyond belief. Apparently in Akin's world, if you get pregnant as a result of rape it's because at some level you consented to it. The Nation has an excellent follow-up piece on why it's dangerous to laugh at this sort of thing: "In the multi-dimensional chess that shapes public opinion, the game is less about individual elections and more about a sustained effort to mainstream radical ideas. In the case of denying women control over their lives, there's evidence that the bad guys may be winning the long-game..." The article is worth a read.

Some of the tweets on the topic are pretty clever; my favorite is from @Michelle9647: "The female body also has ways of shutting down your whole election." Heee.

By the way, Romney's VP Paul Ryan also opposes abortion in cases of rape and supported a personhood bill that would make fertilized eggs human beings. And let's not forget the major GOP backer who suggested the best birth control method was for a woman to hold an aspirin between her knees.

Consider this when you vote in November, ladies.

Comments

[nursedarry.livejournal.com]

I'm speechless...a pity those fuckers weren't.

BTW, are you on Twitter? I need to find you if you are. I live there:)

[delphipsmith]

I know, it's just...i haz no words. No, I don't tweet. My electronic world is already too much of a time-suck, I can't get into something that's like a constant chatroom LOL! I do occasionally search for a certain hashtag, and I looked at yours while you were out having that lovely scar added ;)

[nursedarry.livejournal.com]

Probably just as well, I've been a little silly over there lately. I blame Sebastian Coe.

[delphipsmith]

He's a baron, isn't he a little above your pay grade LOL?! I thought the English were great respecters of class, don't you know ;)

[nursedarry.livejournal.com]

Oh god, never mind. Not him I'm talking about; he just...facilitated.

*goes back to Clinic. Drinks profusely*

[delphipsmith]

Well now I'm really curious! What did he facilitate?

[ladyoneill.livejournal.com]

The Olympics

[nursedarry.livejournal.com]

Bringing all the eye-candy the Olympics to London. Hence I've just traded in my last EA for a new one.

[delphipsmith]

Ah, of course. Should have known. I'm sure he did a better job than NBC, who cut away from the closing ceremonies to show the pilot of Animal Practice. Morons.

[nursedarry.livejournal.com]

You didn't miss much unless it was over Eric Idle's song. I watched that only to see...oh, well, never mind :)

[delphipsmith]

Grrr: Sorry, this media is not available in your territory. Pleeeeease, BBC? I watch BBC-A and love Blackadder, Dr Who and JKR!

[rivertempest.livejournal.com]

I heard about this on the news while getting ready for work this morning, and my 'what the fuck' meter went through the roof.

Seriously, what is considered 'legitimate rape' or 'friendly rape'. o_O

Rape is rape. Period.

Is it just me, or does their ignorance grow by leaps and bounds with every speech/ad?

[delphipsmith]

No, alas, it's not just you. I believe "legitimate rape" is another way of saying "forcible rape" -- Ryan and Aikin teamed up to propose a forcible rape bill last year. It's a pile of crap which is intended solely to restrict access to abortion.

I can only hope that women keep all this in mind when they're standing in the voting booth in November...

[squibstress.livejournal.com]

Unbefreakinlievable. Actually, scratch that. Sadly, it's all too believable.

I actually don't a problem with Ryan's stance from the standpoint of consistency (although I disagree with him vehemently on abortion overall.) If one truly believes that a human life, with all its rights (and that the rights of a group of cells supersede the rights of the woman carrying it), begins at conception, it's logical to forbid abortion regardless of the level of agency exercised by the woman conceiving. What drives me nuts are the jokers who want to outlaw abortion based on the idea that "life begins at conception" but make an exception for rape or incest. Because those jokers are clearly not really interested in when life begins, but in punishing women. A woman who conceives through consensual sex "deserves" to suffer an unwanted pregnancy, while a woman who is raped... well, it's not her fault, so she shouldn't be punished.

All of it is just so depressing.

[delphipsmith]

Quite true, and well said. Unfortunately, consistency in applying a principle isn't praiseworthy when the principle is faulty in the first place...

[ladyoneill.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, this is all over the news here since he's from Missouri. At least it's not a Kansan making a jackass of himself for once.

I'm even tempted to give money to Claire McCaskell who's the incumbant in that race even though I'm not in Missouri (thank god).

[delphipsmith]

Well, isn't that nice to have the neighbors providing a sanity scandal for a change?

[shiv5468.livejournal.com]

Legitimate rape is one that doesn't make you pregnant, so if you get pregnant you weren't raped, so you can't have an abortion.

Simples.

[delphipsmith]

Silly medical professionals! How could they have been mistaken for so many years about such a simple thing??

[shiv5468.livejournal.com]

It must be a socialist conspiracy. What can you expect of people who insist on facts to base a decision on as opposed to the heavily edited and composited revealed word of the Lord as cobbled together by the Nicene Council with various errors in translation.

I mean really,

[inamac.livejournal.com]

I think some men must have special sex education lessons that we women don't have access to. Like the British MP who objected to reducing the tax on sanitary product on the grounds that they weren't a necessity because women could always wait until they got to the loo to menstruate.

And (to pick up the rape theme) that men who are anally raped and respond sexually (as most do, because, y'know, prostate stimulation) must be secretly gay and therefore it's not rape.

Is it very wrong of me to want Mr Akin to experience the latter?

[delphipsmith]

Wait until they get to the loo?? Was he serious???? Holy cripes. I promise not to think it very wrong of you to wish Mr Akin (not to mention the nimnul who made said statement!) to experience that if, in return, you will promise not to think it very wrong of me to wish that he would get pregnant as a result. Deal?

[pokeystar.livejournal.com]

I'm going to his house and I will sit on his precious antique chesterfield until he concedes the necessity of feminine products.

[delphipsmith]

LOL!! And I will pay your ticket :D

Edit: Checked your LJ and you amuse me in a "I could have written that...but yay, now I don't have to" manner. I have friended you, hope that's acceptable behavior :)

[chthonya]

*boggles*

Big pharma must be fuming - no need for the pill after all, our bodies can just choose not to conceive. Sadly, Mother Nature is not that consensual.

Interesting (and scary) article - thanks for the link.

[delphipsmith]

boggle is the word. The ability to choose whether to conceive or not would be such a great evolutionary skill, wouldn't it?

Want another boggle? Here's a draft of the GOP party platform. I hope all the conservatives out there know exactly what they're voting to support when they pull that lever in November...